Michea B | Author | Photographer | Artist | Activist

TERF Warning Signs and Clues.

So….I’ve decided to go through various TERFs and TEFs that I’ve blocked and compile a list of “clues” and “warning signs” that someone might be a TERF/TEF. Obviously a quick check of their TL will generally give them away, but these are for “quick glance” checks.

1) “Old School Lesbo” is one to check, especially when paired with 2) “Before the T got added to LGB” or 3) 80s gender bending.

EDIT: There is nothing wrong with “Old School Lesbo”, however please notice it is almost always paired with either an erasure of the T from LGBTQ+, or some other TERF warning sign.

4) Profiles with XX or XY (yes men can be TERFs/TEFs)

EDIT: While there are some trans people using this, such as Chelsea Manning, it is something to take notice of and to pay attention to. This is almost always paired with other warning signs.

5) Any profile using “Gender Critical” should be a RED FLAG.

6) Reduction of people to XX or XY when referring to them.

7) TERFRAGETTE (this is a new one for me)

EDIT: They are claiming that like the suffragettes, they are pioneers and the original freedom fighters for a cause, though why would you want to fight for the erasure of a group of people? I mean, unless you’re really going for the whole suffragette thing, where it was only for rich white women and all other women were excluded….oh…

9) The name “Goody” appearing in the names appears to be a good indicator. Usually shows up along with other signs.

EDIT: This is in reference to either the Salem Witch Trials (basically claiming they’re the victims of a witch hunt), The Crucible, A Handmaid’s Tale, or calling back to Puritanical practices.

10) Viewing CIS as a slur or claiming to not be cis but an “actual woman”.Cis is a Latin prefix meaning same. This isn’t that hard people.

11) “Biological woman”12) “Adult Human Female”
This goes along with the XX, and is generally a good sign that they are a TERF/TEF and is a form of intersex erasure as well.

EDIT: This also shows that the person does not have a full grasp of biology past that of a primary school level, or that they are being willfully ignorant.

13) Reducing “woman” to various organs/parts

14) “Women do not have penises”
There are multiple variations of this.

EDIT: If you are reducing gender down to sex organs, specifically penis and vagina, you should probably go back to school or at least listen to biologists who have been for a long time pointing out how bullshit your claims are.

EDIT: Yes there are some who are intersex who can identify in this way, please do not assume I was attempting to erase them as I was not, the majority of people doing this are not intersex people, but TERFs who are attempting to make a mockery of how trans people identify in an attempt to erase them.

17) PERF (penis exclusionary radical feminism)
This one is a new one for me.

There are obviously many more examples and variations of the 33 signs I’ve noted. Many of the examples, such as “I’m not cis” or reducing oneself to chromosomes or sex organs, are similarly seen among anti-feminists and people like @stillgray who don’t understand sex and gender.

As you can see, many of the signs overlap/appear together with others.

I posted screen shots and not links because I do NOT want people harassing these profiles or people. If you encounter them or go to their profiles, please do not engage them and just block them. I wished to show examples of warning signs, and could only do so this way. Please use this as an educational resource, and I hope this helps many of my trans, NB, genderfluid, and gender non-conforming followers when sighting people who wish to erase them or do them harm. All examples used can be found here if someone is wishing to use them to preemptively block these awful people.

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Published by Michea B

I am a trans man who hails from southern Oregon. I work as a freelance writer and photographer, as well as work as a volunteer activist. I create whimsical clay creations and make YouTube videos on social issues.
View all posts by Michea B